EDITORIAL - Resolve this quickly

The Senate Electoral Tribunal allowed her to keep her seat in Congress, but Sen. Grace Poe has lost the initial round in her attempt to run for president next year. Near the close of office hours the other day, the Second Division of the Commission on Elections ruled to disqualify Poe from the presidential race, citing her failure to meet residency and citizenship requirements.

Poe is appealing the case to the full Comelec, whose officials said yesterday her name would remain in the 2016 ballot until there is a final ruling on her case. That means a final ruling not of the Comelec but of the Supreme Court, because whatever the full Comelec decides, this battle is expected to be elevated to the SC, where appeals can further prolong the wait for a final, binding ruling.

Considering what’s at stake, both the Comelec and the SC must move quickly to resolve the controversy. If Poe is disqualified, the inclusion of her name in the ballot can cause confusion and lead to spoiled votes. Even if she is eventually allowed to run, the initial decision to disqualify her is affecting her pending a final decision, the Comelec said yesterday that Poe could run for president. If she wins and the SC later issues a final ruling that she is disqualified, it can only spell instability that the nation cannot afford.

In the 2010 race, the qualification of Joseph Estrada to run for president was challenged before the Supreme Court. There was a valid question on whether his presidential pardon for plunder allowed him to seek elective office. The SC shirked its duty to rule on this important question, explaining that Estrada’s defeat rendered the issue moot and academic. For the 2016 race, Estrada has said he might seek the presidency again if both Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay would be disqualified. Poe has consistently topped national surveys on the presidential race.

A president of the republic must have a clear mandate. Any cloud of doubt hanging over that mandate spells trouble not only for the president but for the nation itself. The Comelec and SC must act on Poe’s case with dispatch.